Adjustable thermoplastic dental appliance system and method

Abstract

Methods and systems herein relate to forming an upper dental appliance chassis including at least two upper appliance button protrusions; forming a lower dental appliance chassis including at least two lower appliance button protrusions and at least two vertical displacement bite pads; injection overmolding a first thermoplastic on the upper dental appliance chassis to provide a first reformable thermoplastic layer integrated with the upper dental appliance chassis that exposes the at least two upper appliance button protrusions to form an upper dental tray; and injection overmolding a second thermoplastic on the upper dental appliance chassis to provide a second reformable thermoplastic layer integrated with the lower dental appliance chassis that exposes the at least two lower appliance button protrusions and the at least two vertical displacement bite pads to form a bottom dental tray.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 forming an upper dental appliance chassis including at least two upper appliance button protrusions and an elongated member protruding from the upper dental appliance chassis;   forming a lower dental appliance chassis including at least two lower appliance button protrusions, at least two vertical displacement bite pads, and a second elongated member protruding from the lower dental appliance chassis;   injection overmolding a first thermoplastic on the upper dental appliance chassis to provide a first reformable layer integrated with the upper dental appliance chassis that exposes the at least two upper appliance button protrusions to form an upper dental tray; and   injection overmolding a second thermoplastic on the lower dental appliance chassis to provide a second reformable layer integrated with the lower dental appliance chassis that exposes the at least two lower appliance button protrusions and the at least two vertical displacement bite pads to form a bottom dental tray, wherein the at least two vertical displacement bite pads include a gradient inclining from rear to fore.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 forming a dental appliance including the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis, wherein the at least two lower appliance button protrusions, and the at least two upper appliance button protrusions provide a forward mandibular position when two or more bands are attached to connect the upper dental tray and the lower dental tray. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis are injection molded from one or more of an Ethylene Propylene Copolymer and a Polyoxymethlene Copolymer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis are injection molded using a thermoplastic olefin, thermoplastic polyolefin, or olefinic thermoplastic elastomer. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis are injection molded using a polyethylene terephthalate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis are formed by three-dimensional (3D) printing of one or more of a light polymerizable liquid thermoset crosslinked polymer, a polyurethane, a methacrylate and a copolymer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis are formed by three-dimensional (3D) printing of a polymerizable resin composition of a urethane monomer of urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA), an acidic monomer, and one or more hydrophobic monomers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first thermoplastic and the second thermoplastic are comprised of one or more of an ε-caprolactone, caprolactam and one or more polycaprolactone polymers. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first thermoplastic and the second thermoplastic are comprised of one or more of a caprolactone or polycaprolactone polymer material overmolded on the upper dental appliance chassis and the lower dental appliance chassis. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least two vertical displacement bite pads are configured to be replaced with alternate vertical displacement bite pads of one or more heights. 
     
     
         11 . A mandibular advancement dental appliance comprising:
 a two-layer upper tray including:
 an upper dental appliance chassis layer including at least two upper appliance button protrusions and a first elongated member protruding from the upper dental appliance chassis; and a first reformable thermoplastic layer injection overmolded over a portion of the upper dental appliance chassis layer formed of one or more of an ε-caprolactone, caprolactam and one or more polycaprolactone polymers integrated with the upper dental appliance chassis via one or more cavities in the surface of the upper dental appliance chassis, the first reformable thermoplastic layer configured to expose the at least two upper appliance button protrusions; 
   a two-layer lower tray including:
 a lower dental appliance chassis layer including at least two lower appliance button protrusions and at least two vertical displacement bite pads, and a second elongated member protruding from the lower dental appliance chassis; and 
 a second reformable thermoplastic layer injection overmolded over the lower dental appliance chassis layer formed of one or more of an ε-caprolactone, caprolactam and one or more polycaprolactone polymers integrated with the lower dental appliance chassis via one or more cavities in the surface of the lower dental appliance chassis, the second reformable thermoplastic layer configured to expose the at least two lower appliance button protrusions and the at least two vertical displacement bite pads. 
   
     
     
         12 . The mandibular advancement dental appliance of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a pair of bands adapted to couple the two-layer lower tray with the two-layer upper tray to provide mandibular advancement.   
     
     
         13 . The mandibular advancement dental appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the first elongated member and the second elongated member include marks to measure forward mandibular adjustment when worn by a patient. 
     
     
         14 . The mandibular advancement dental appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the first elongated member and/or the second elongated member include a default 21 millimeter marking and at least one of the first elongated member and the second elongated member include marks that identify a displacement matching a length for the pair of bands. 
     
     
         15 . The mandibular advancement dental appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the at least two vertical displacement bite pads are formed with a gradient inclining from rear to fore.